Katla
"A killer, a monster and yet the only one who remained loyal" -High Duchess Hask'Endek- The Karthemas knight known as Katla '''(???-2297) '''was a member of the infamous Second Quadrumvirate and high admiral of the fleets of the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass.Veteran of several previous conflicts including the bloody battles of the Great southeastern war, Katla was more a land warrior than she was a naval commander at first, yet she still achieved many victories for the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass, thanks in no small part to her mastery of boarding actions and surprise attacks. Born sometime during the cataclysmic event known today as the Fall of Yadra, Katla was born in a noble family whose power and prestige had been broken by the attacks of the Biluan Mind. Thus, she was part of a generation filled with a sentiment of revanchism, a far cry from the peace-seeking traditions the previous people of the kingdom were known for. During the Yadran civil war, due to the lack of any veteran admirals, Hask'Endek made her high admiral of the Enlightened Kingdom's fleets, a role Katla performed well beyond expectations. As it happened with all the other members of the Second Quadrumvirate, Katla was known to have broken many rules of war, her ship-to-ship assaults being known for the mountains of corpses which littered whole corridors once the admiral was done. Unlike her fellow generals though, Katla remained loyal to the Enlightened Kingdom for all of her life, being the only one to heed the High Queen's call during the Siege of the Scarlet Palace. She died during a surprise counter-attack, her efforts giving the defenders the time they needed to push the forces of the Kingdom of Yadra back. History Before the Civil war As many other young Karthemas born after the Fall of Yadra, Katla was born during a time where the Kingdom was nearly at its lowest point. Trust in the king was at an all time low, while belief in the realm's peaceful traditions was begining to weaken, as nobles and peasants alike blamed the Kingdom's defeats on the weakness of the realm's Banners and their commanders. While still young, Katla swore like many other Karthemas of her generation to fight back and take those planets which had once belonged to their beloved realm. Staying in the garrison of one of the colonies, Katla did not see much action during the Great southeastern war, despite her desperate attempts to join the fight everyone knew would take place in the new capital of Fal'Kaboss. By the time the capital was taken, the only foes Katla had faced were pirate bands and starving hordes of lowborn Karthemas. Thanks to her resolve and iron will during these times, she was given the rank of knight-captain. High Admiral As the Kingdom of Yadra tried to keep going after the casualties and loss of territory brought after the end of the war, Katla and other highborn began to question the reforms brought by new, Yadran rulers. While feeling, like many others, betrayed by The Scarlet Empress, Katla still loathed those Empresses who followed. The attempts of Empress Linassa IV to close ties with the Commonwealth for instance created much anger and resentment amonst the Yadrani elites. Befriending High Duchess Hask'Endek, Katla was one of the first to swear fealty to the "new queen" during the creation of the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass. As there were very few trusted admirals amongst the rebel camp, Katla (due in no small part to her friendship with the new ruler), was given the rank of admiral of one of the Kingdom's squadrons, a duty Katla promised to perform with the best of her ability. While definetely no master of void warfare, Katla managed still to exploit many of the peculiarities of space warfare during the Yadran civil war. As much of the weaponry of the fleets could not keep up with armor and shielding technology, boarding actions not only became a possibility for Karthemas, but also a favoured tactic by knights like Katla. During the Ambush at the Dark Fangs, she took a mixture of old corvettes and merchant ships filled with hundreds of knights to surround and take several large ships of the Kingdom of Yadra, ships which would later become capital vessels of the Enlightened Kingdom. For her victory, and the deaths or betrayals of other admirals, Katla was finally given the rank of High Admiral. Problems with the Quadrumvirate As other generals of the Enlightened Kingdom distinguished themselves, the Second Quadrumvirate was made. With Aithusa as its supreme lord, the four generals actually pushed back many counter-attacks made by the Kingdom of Yadra, even taking some territory from it as they bested the Kingdom's forces again and again on the field and in space. While she did respect the skills and victories of her fellow commanders, Katla was still often critical of the power and freedom of action given to her fellow generals. As Aithusa began to plan offensives without first consulting the queen or any of her lords, Katla and the Supreme Commander began to quarrel and nearly came to blows several times. Soon, as Aithusa and the others began to openly complain about the lack of support given by the Kingdom, Katla gave up on them, naming them turncoats who knew nothing of loyalty except for themselves. Taking her fleets, Katla chose to only fight skirmishes against the vessels of the Kingdom of Yadra, only supporting the land armies of the other generals when commanded by the High Queen. Death Katla's last years were difficult to say the least. After losing nearly half her fleet during the inconclusive Battle of the 100 wrecks, Katla was forced to fall back and try defensive tactics she had never truly mastered. Constantly forced back, she just managed to hold the line when a call came from Ra'Tagrass itself, speaking of how an invading force had managed to land and were now besieging the Scarlet Palace itself. With all of its armies abroad, the Kingdom could not hope to hold for long, so they ordered the return of the Banners. Only Katla heeded the call for help. While her battered fleet faced the invading vessels, she, alongside what knights could still fight, descended to the walls of the palace to take part on its defence. Known as the Siege of the Scarlet Palace, Katla fought tirelessly to hold the walls, leading several bloody counter-attacks to retake those positions conquered by the besiegers. Seeing that, despite her efforts, the siege was all but lost, Katla decided that desperate measures needed to be taken. At the head of a mixture of knights and servants, the High Admiral attacked the besiegers after they pulled back from a failed assault. Surprised, they could not stop the sudden advance or stop Katla as she fought several duels against the besigeing commanders, killing two and wounding others before dying from her many wounds. While the battle ended in a victory, with the dead of Katla, the Enlightened Kingdom lost her last remaining loyal general, while the survivors of the Second Quadrumvirate began to carve kingdoms of their own from the territories they had conquered. Personality Katla, despite her frightening appearance and intimidating looks, was known always as a lonely and maybe even shy Karthemas. Only comfortable during a battle, she seldom spoke with her captains or fellow knights, very few of whom knew anything about their High Admiral. Still, none doubted that she was fanatical in her belief that the Yadrani needed to rise and take back the territories which were rightfully theirs. Unlike her fellow generals however, Katla saw limits to this belief, including the betrayal of yet another monarch. Due to her gruesome tradition of taking the heads of her foes, there are some who whisper that Katla had many psycopathic tendencies. Her defenders however justify this as a stratagem to scare enemy forces into surrendering to the Enlightened Kingdom without a fight. Still, that has not stopped the rumors about her slaying hundreds of surrendering crews and soldiers to satisfy her lust for blood. Wargear '''Armor of Drasin: '''A suit of black metal of surprising flexibility, this suit of armor was said to have belonged to a foe Katla had bested in a duel. Strong enough to withstand small-arms fire, yet also quite light, it is equiped with a high number of advanced systems and even propellers to take its wearer faster into battle. '''Banner of Trophies: '''The most disgusting tradition Katla began as she became High Admiral was the taking of her foes' heads to carry them to battle. This scare tactic not only terrified her foes, but her own troops as well, few of whom ever dared to question any of her orders as they gazed into the empty holes of Katla's defeated foes. '''Twin blades of Curacao: '''Surprisingly, the twin blades which Katla wielded during most of her assaults were not created in the forges of the old Kingdom of Yadra. Instead, both swords were made in the Commonwealth planet of Curacao, their manufacture lacking the beauty of traditional, Karthemas craft, yet still strong and able to easily pierce through steel, flesh and bone as if it was butter instead. Only Katla knew how she came to own these weapons, a secret she took to the grave. Category:Characters Category:Military Commanders Category:Kingdom of Yadra